Fade to Black
by Porter-Fuzz1218
Summary: The war has only begun. Everything has changed. Revelations on who I thought I was have made me come to the conclusion that the only road to peace is finishing this war. The father I thought I had is a shadow, I have nothing now but a desire to see his blood on my hands. Vengeance is what I crave. DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

With Optimus gone, the base took on a whole new atmosphere. It seemed a hell of a lot more melancholy and I couldn't blame the Autobots or the rest of my fellow human companions for that feeling either. The feeling of helplessness pervaded the air, along with the feeling of fear. Ah Fear, the greatest emotion out there. People say that love and happiness are the greatest and most powerful emotions that a person can have. I disagree. Fear drives people to do pretty amazing things. Terrifying things. Fear overrides the simplest desires; it is the most basic of all human instincts and emotions, along with anger. Controlling those two emotions gives a person control over just about everything else.

In hindsight, I suppose, the Autobots had succeeded in what they set out to do, stop Unicron. Although it came at a price they didn't see coming. While the Autobots seemed focused on getting Optimus back, I was focused on getting vengeance. Silas still aroused thoughts of anger, hatred, and a lust for his blood after what my mother had told me now three days ago. Arcee had attempted to get Optimus back but Soundwave was too cunning and had ground bridged her somewhere else. I thought at first that Arcee would have had a chance at resurrecting Prime's memories, but now I heard about the artifact that Jack held and the AllSpark whispered history into my ears. I now knew that in order for the Autobots to get Optimus Prime back, Jack had to go to Cybertron and go to Vector Sigma. I was determined to go with him, for my own reasons. I needed this AllSpark out of me and it needed to go. I loved the history lessons, honestly I did, but I just wanted the Dark Energon out of my system. I shivered remembering the dark thoughts that had emerged when Unicron emerged. He even encouraged my crusade against Silas, which gave me pause to consider what I was doing.

I was listening to the Autobots argue and I was shaking my head. They finally stopped with the decision to seize the spacebridge that the Decepticons were building, so I warmed myself up to the idea and accepted it as well. Then another unthinkable thing happened, Starscream contacted us.

"Let me come," I said.

"No, it's too dangerous," Flare said.

"Like I haven't been in dangerous spots before?" I said.

"This is something totally different!"  
>"Is it?" I asked. "I've been trained to spot liars and get the truth out of them."<p>

"Starscream isn't human," Ratchet said.

"It's still the same principle," I said.

"How so?" Ratchet asked.

"If he lies, I'll let you know."

Ratchet sighed and nodded his consent that I could come along. He plugged in the coordinates and activated the ground bridge. "Do you think we can trust Starscream?" Raf asked.

"No," I answered. "Although, he has helped us in the past when it benefitted him."

"So you're saying this is to benefit him?" Flare asked.

"Correct," I said. "From what I understand, the Cons have turned on him and if he needs help who else can he logically turn to?"

Bulkhead, Ratchet, and I walked through the ground bridge and saw Starscream sitting against a rock. He was bleeding Energon pretty heavily.

"I told you to come alone!" he cried.

"And since when do we listen to you?" Bulkhead asked, transforming his right hand into a weapon.

"Where is Optimus?" Ratchet demanded.

I stood there with my arms crossed and waited for Starscream to answer. "Patch me up and perhaps I'll tell you," the rouge said. The three of us that had come through the ground bridge looked at one another and Starscream growled. "Have sympathy, I'm leaking here."

"Then I suggest that you speak quickly," Ratchet ordered. "Has Optimus been harmed in any way?"  
>"He's fine," Starscream answered. "Fine. Can't you see that I'm the one that's been harmed!"<p>

"Well, where is he?" Bulkhead yelled.

"Where do you think?" Starscream yelled back. "He's on Megatron's warship!"

"Which is located where?" Ratchet asked.

"Now? Hehe, who knows," Starscream replied. "It's a ship! It moves! It took me months to track. Only to get fired upon."

"You wouldn't go through the trouble of calling me here unless you had information to trade," Ratchet said. "Real information."

Starscream sighed and said, "Very well. Your beloved leader may have lost his senses. He goes by the name Orion Pax now and it seems Megatron has led him to believe he's a Decepticon."

Bulkhead snorted, "Tell us something we don't know."

I looked up at Bulkhead and said, "Hey, be nice here."

"What! How could you possibly know that?" Starscream cried indignantly.

"We're wasting our time," Ratchet said.

We turned to leave through the still open ground bridge when Starscream said, "Wait, that's all I have. Really, you can't just leave me like this."

I stopped and turned around and replied, "Yes, we can unless you have something of greater importance to us that we already don't know."

"And unless you know where Megatron is hiding his spacebridge you can stay here and rust," Bulkhead threw in.

Starscream gasped and looked at the three of us like we were insane, which we might have been just a tad but eh that's the world am I right? "Spacebridge? Do you mean to tell me that they actually finished building it without my supervision!" Starscream raged.

"Yes," I said.

Starscream laughed and motioned to his bloody leg, "It hurts most right here, Doctor."

Ratchet and Bulkhead looked at me and knelt down to my level. "Has he been lying to us?" Bulkhead asked.

"No, he hasn't he really wants that leg patched up," I answered quietly.

Ratchet sighed, stood up, and then looked at Starscream. "Very well, I'll patch you up after you tell us the location of the spacebridge," the medic said.

"We have a deal, Doctor," Starscream said with a smile on his face.

Ratchet got the coordinates and then patched up the rouge Cybertronian. The three of us walked through the ground bridge and back to base. Ratchet recalled Bee and Arcee from their patrols and laid out the plan. "The Decepticon spacebridge is located here, underground," Ratchet said pointing to the big monitor screen. "Within an Energon mine."

"Adjacent to a raw fuel supply," Arcee said. "Clever."

"Very," Flare said.

"What's our intel?" Arcee asked.

Bulkhead and Ratchet looked at each other and exchanged glances before Ratchet replied, "Aaaaaaa, reliable source." Arcee glared at the medic and Ratchet continued, "So, do we have a consensus?" This time he looked at the gathered humans, June Darby, Agent Fowler, Jack, Raf, Miko, and myself.

"Do we even know if people can breathe your atmosphere?" June asked.

"I'll hook Jack up," Fowler said. "Completely state of the art. I still have connections at NASA."

"It's too dangerous," June said looking at Jack sadly.

"Mom, I know that this is hard, but Optimus risked his life to save our planet and he's not even human," Jack said. "We owe it to him."

"Jack may be the only one who can do this, June," Arcee said. "But don't think for one moment that I'll let him travel un-chaperoned."

"I won't either," I said speaking up.

"You're not going!" Flare said.

"What if Arcee is protecting Jack from more than one enemy and more keep coming?" I asked. "Who will protect Jack then?"

"He's got a point," Fowler spoke up.

Flare glared at him and he looked away from my guardian. "Beau, we've been over this, you've even said it yourself, you're no match for Cybertronians!"

"If my sacrifice gives Jack enough time to access Vector Sigma, then so be it," I said, "I'm not a little kid, Flare. I've been through hell and back and I know how to handle myself in difficult situations."

"If you're going then I'm going!" Flare said.

I shook my head, "Think logically here, Flare, they need all of the help they can get holding the spacebridge once we get it."

"Beau's right," Ratchet said.

Flare finally nodded her consent, although I could tell we were going to have a long discussion about this if we both came back from the ensuing trials looming ahead.

"Not everyone is destined for an ordinary life," Ratchet said after a while of silence. "Optimus Prime was once Orion Pax after all."

June looked sadder than she had and looked at Jack. "When you were little you always wanted to be an astronaut," she said.

Fowler left through a ground bridge and retrieved two sets of space gear and once he got back, Ratchet went over the battle plan. "We will ground bridge directly into the Energon mine and make our way to the spacebridge chamber neutralizing any Decepticon forces we encounter," Ratchet said. "Once we secure the spacebridge, we'll send for Jack and Beau." June rubbed Jack's back lovingly and I cracked my neck. "Stealth must be an absolute priority. We most certainly will be outnumbered, and if any Decepticon should transmit an alter to the warship,"

"The odds become four hundred to one," Bulkhead finished.

"Scrambling communications upon entry will certainly provide an edge in this regard," Ratchet said.

"Taking the bridge is the easy part," Arcee said. "You four need to hold it long enough for Jack, Beau, and me to get to Cybertron and back."

"If Rafael climbed to the top of the rope in gym class, we can do this!" Ratchet said.

"What does gym class have to do with anything?" Miko asked. "And if Ratchet gets to go on a commando raid, I'm going too."

"Miko, you'll help Rafael manage our ground bridge and manage the communications hub," Ratchet ordered.

"Urgh, can't go to Cybertron, can't storm the Decepticon spacebridge!" Miko huffed.

"And Nurse Darby will stand by in case of emergency," Ratchet continued.

"Son, it's time to suit up," Fowler said looking at Jack.

Jack nodded and grabbed the smaller space suit and I took the larger one. I saw that it was specially made so that my prosthetic would be out and the suit would still be pressurized. I didn't even want to know how they had made this. I just knew that it would be skin tight near the beginning of the prosthetic. I removed my holstered Glock and put on the suit. After I was suited up and put the holster back on over the space suit and checked to see how much ammo I had. I had three clips attached to the belt of the holster and one clip in the gun.

"Strike Team to base, objective secure." Ratchet commed in.

Fowler turned to Jack and me and said, "That's your cue."

I nodded and grabbed the helmet and held it in the crook of my arm and Jack did the same. He put his helmet on, but I didn't yet. We both stood in front of the opened ground bridge and Raf came down to join us.

"Bring me back a souvenir," Raf said.

"So, what happens when you have to go to the bathroom?" Miko asked with a mischievous look on her face.

"Safe journey, boys," Fowler said sincerely.

"Just go already," June said approaching her son. "Optimus needs you."

"Come on, let's go, Jack," I said. I hated long good-byes. I don't know why, maybe it had something to do with the long good-bye my parents gave me all those years ago.

Jack nodded and he turned towards the ground bridge. Together the two of us walked through it and as we walked through it, I put the helmet on.

We arrived at the spacebridge and Arcee was standing there waiting for us and Ratchet noticed immediately that we had arrived without even turning from the spacebridge counsel. "Locking onto Cybertron," he said.

"You ready?" she asked.

"Let's do this," Jack said.

"I'll leave the spacebridge portal open in order to eliminate any communication lag over the great distance," Ratchet said. "And make it easier for you to locate when you're ready to return."

"Easier to locate?" Jack asked. "You're not bridging us straight to the big V?"

"Vector Sigma's true location is shrouded in myth and rumor, Jack," Ratchet replied. "It is said that the Path of the Primes leads there. We must be confident that Optimus will guide you."

"Don't worry, space bridging is just like ground bridging," Arcee informed Jack and me.

"And here I was worried we'd be thrown into a star," I muttered to myself.

"What was that?" Flare asked.

"Nothing, nothing," I said. I took a deep breath and rolled my head around in an effort to relieve some stress. It worked for a little while until I remembered that I could potentially be going to my death.

The spacebridge opened and Arcee yelled over the noise, "Just a little more intense!"

"Thanks, Cee," I muttered as Arcee and Jack walked towards the open portal.

I turned around and looked at Flare and motioned for her to kneel down. "What is it kid?" she asked.

"In case I don't come back, I left a letter in your quarters explaining everything," I said.

"A letter, huh?"

"Yes, read it if I don't come back," I repeated. "If I come back I'll explain things to you in person."

"We have a deal," Flare said. "Now go on."  
>I nodded and turned towards the portal and followed Arcee and Jack through it to Cybertron. I was blown away by the destruction that I saw, along with the potential of what it had been. I personally loved the two moons that the planet had.<p>

"I…I can't believe it," Jack said after a while. "I'm actually on another planet. Arcee, this is incredible!" Arcee was silent so Jack asked, "Arcee?"

"This isn't how I wanted you to see my home," Arcee said sadly.

"I…I'm sorry," Jack apologized.

"In the fog of war it's hard to see beyond the next leg of a mission, or beyond the next punch in the fight," Arcee said. "We did everything to save Cybertron. And when the fog finally lifted, there wasn't much left to save."

Sad as that was, I was personally disappointed that nothing had happened to me yet. My mother had told me that the only way for the AllSpark to get out of my system was for me to be on Cybertron. Well here I am! I didn't feel any different and I was still getting a mini history lesson on Cybertron's past. Maybe I hadn't given it enough time or maybe I was insane to believe a person that hadn't been in my life for the past nine and a half years. I was still looking around the ruins of this once great planet when our comms unit buzzed in. "Arcee, Jack, Beau," Ratchet's voice said. "Do you copy?"

"Roger, we're on Cybertron," Jack answered.

"Just keep a sightseeing to a minimum, huh," Bulkhead suggested.

"Indeed, we don't know if your journey ahead is five clicks or five thousand," Ratchet interjected.

I smiled and shook my head. "No problem, Bulk," I answered. "The sights can see us."

"Understood," Arcee responded to Ratchet's comment. "We're out."

"Okay, Ratchet said the card would guide us," Jack said. "But I don't see how or what I'm supposed to do."

Jack was holding the card out and it was glowing a faint blue color. He moved it around and it hit a section where it glowed brighter and then when he moved it away it dulled in color until he moved it back to the place it had glowed bright. "There ya go," Arcee said as she transformed into her motorcycle form.

Jack got on first and I got on behind him. I had the eerie feeling that something was about to happen and I didn't know if it was going to be a good thing or a bad thing. Arcee drove off and Jack led the way with his shining, glowing, card of destiny. Eventually we were arriving towards a place that the installed memory of the AllSpark had given me and I recognized because of it, Kaon.

"That way," Jack said.

"Toward Kaon?" Arcee asked in shock.

"The Decepticon capital," Jack said in disgust. "Swell."

We approached a giant building and Arcee stopped allowing Jack and myself to dismount. "We're on foot from here," Arcee said. "Don't want engine noise to attract the wrong kind of attention."

"Cons?" Jack asked.

"Vermin."

Jack pulled out his Glow Card of Destiny once again and said, "This way."

"Did you hear that?" I asked.

"What?" Arcee asked.

"I though I heard clanking," I said.

"Arcee's walking," Jack said.

"That isn't us," I clarified.

"We must be close," Jack said once his card glowed even brighter than before.

We entered the courtyard of what I was assuming to be Darkmount, or something close to that and the ground started to rumble. My eyes narrowed and I transformed my hand into a gun. The ground gave way as Jack's card glowed with a burning intensity as a structure rose from the ground. We approached it and a doorway revealed itself.

"Vector Sigma is down here?" Jack asked in shock.

"Kaon didn't always belong to the Decepticons," Arcee said. "Megatron took it as his capitol, apparently without realizing what laid beneath his feet."

"What was that?" I asked.

"What?" Arcee asked as some rock hit us. She looked up and an insectoid looking robot jumped down at us.

Insecticon my memories that weren't mine told me. I aimed my gun up and got a shot off before the Insecticon landed. Arcee dove out of the way and rolled and I shoved Jack farther into the chamber that led to Vector Sigma. Arcee started firing at the beast and enraged it tackled her. Jack emerged from the chamber and started running toward Arcee as I fired upon the beast and it saw what Jack was holding and ran right past me. "God damn it!" I swore.

Lucky for me, Arcee got its attention back by firing at it again. "We're being attacked by some giant bot beetle!" Jack commed in to Ratchet.

"An Insecticon!" Ratchet said confirming my AllSpark induced memories.

"Jack, go!" Arcee ordered.

"But…" Jack started to argue.

"Etetet, no ya don't!" I said silencing him and grabbing him by the arm and dragging him into the confines of the chamber. "If you don't do this, Jack, Optimus is lost to us! Without Optimus Prime, the earth is as good as lost! Do you want all of those innocent lives on your hands because you hesitated?"

"Nnnnooo," Jack stuttered.

"Then move your ass along and get those memories back," I said. "I'll help Cee out!"

"But…"  
>"GO!" I roared at Jack as I shoved him.<p>

Arcee used her agility to fight the Insecticon and I used my wits. As Arcee fought the creature, I would run forward, slide underneath it and shoot it. This worked a couple of times before I was thrown backward by an explosion from a too close to call shot from the Insecticon. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and then I started to feel fuzzy and cold. I looked at my prosthetic and saw that it had transformed itself back into a hand and out of the gun mode. My body seemed to be glowing and I started to feel faint.

"Beau, your vitals are dropping, what happened?" Ratchet asked me in concern.

"I'm…I'm not sure," I whispered. My vision was dancing between dark and light as I stood up. "I'm fine."

"Beau…" Ratchet's voice seemed lost to me as I sank to my knees after only just successfully standing up.

My eyes opened and I realized that I was on my back laying down. I was still on Cybertron and I quickly sat up. Arcee and Jack came out of the chamber and picked me up.

"You okay?" Jack asked me.  
>"Yeah, yeah," I said. "Fine."<p>

We approached the point of pick up and Arcee wasn't getting a response from Ratchet. "Something's wrong," she said.

"My guess, Megatron found out what we were up to," I said.

Arcee went through first, followed by Jack, and I took up the rear. I came through in time to see Jack give Optimus his memories back. How Optimus got to the spacebridge location was beyond my ability to think at that moment, I just took it as a good omen. Megatron came charging across the cavern and jumped up with his sword coming down at Optimus. The Prime caught the weapon and said, "Megatron, be gone!" And then to my undying joy, punched the bastard.

"Ratchet, how did we get here?" Optimus asked the CMO.

"Long story my old friend," Ratchet answered.

I took a couple of steps forward and felt that odd sensation of being fuzzy and cold again. I collapsed onto a knee and shook my head. Jack helped me up and asked, "Are you sure that you're alright?"

"No," I answered.

A ground bridge opened and Arcee said right away, "It's ours."

We rushed towards it and entered it to arrive back at the missile silo that served as the Autobot base of operations. I removed my space helmet and sat down. Everyone was in the main area as the big man himself walked through and the melancholy feeling finally lifted. I could tell that the game had changed though. Both sides now had drawn battle lines, we were just more willing to defend ours.

Flare knelt down next to me and said, "What did you have to discuss with me?"

I smiled and looked up at my guardian. "I made it back, I guess I have to spill," I said.

"Indeed."

"Meet me topside in half an hour and you'll get your explanation," I promised.

Flare nodded and I went off to change. I changed into a sleeveless black tee, black shorts, my dad's dog tags, my dog tags, and sneakers. I cracked my back and my neck before I headed topside. I was stopped by Ratchet though. "Can I help you, Ratch?" I asked.

"Yes, it's about what happened on Cybertron," the medic said. "When your vitals dropped."

"It was nothing," I with an even voice. "I think that it was just the hit I took from the Insecticon."

The CMO wasn't impressed but he let it slide. I headed up top and found Flare waiting for me. "Spill," she said.

I sat down with my feet dangling over the rock face's edge and sighed. I told her about how my mother was still alive, how she ran the agency that both Fowler and I worked for. I told her how when I was eight the AllSpark had been planted inside of me and the only way to get it out of me was to head to Cybertron. I told her how I found out that Silas had killed my real father. I told her how I wanted vengeance. I finished and looked up at the shocked face of my guardian. "You can't tell the others," I begged. "They mustn't know!"  
>Flare nodded and we gazed at the starlit sky together. After what seemed like an hour Flare asked, "Did it work?"<p>

"Did what work?" I asked.

"The trip to Cybertron?"

"I honestly don't know," I answered. I tried to transform my prosthetic into a gun but it failed to do as I wished. I tried again and again the same result. "It appears that it has."

"Well, let us hope that it stays that way," Flare said.

I looked down at my prosthetic and thought, _Yeah, let's hope it stays that way. I doubt it though. To many freaky things have happened for all I know the AllSpark jettisoned right into the prosthetic!_ I managed to stay awake to watch the sun rise, a dawning of a new day in this war and one where I knew the course had been altered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Are you sure about this?" Agent Fowler asked me.

"Yeah, I've given it a lot of thought and I decided that this was the best course of action," I answered.

"You know the general isn't going to be happy about this, especially since the thing is complete," Fowler said running a hand through his hair.

"I understand that," I said. "The general needs to understand that I made a mistake and so did this organization."

"But to completely flip-flop your point of view this quickly, Uncle Sam's beard boy," Fowler said aghast. "This doesn't bode well for you."

"When has anything bode well for me recently?" I asked crossing my arms.

The agent shrugged and shook his head. It was quiet between the two of us for a while until he said, "Very well, it'll be done. As for your other request I'll work on that as well."

"Thanks, Fowler," I said grateful that he would dismantle the transformer we had built at Hanger E. "As for the other request?"

"Like I said, I'll work on it," Fowler said.

"I don't have much time," I said pointedly.

William Fowler sighed and looked me in the eyes. "You don't have to do everything alone," he said softly.

"I know, but that's how I operate," I said. I paused and said softly, "It was how I was taught to operate."

"I thought you said that with MECH you never went out on solo missions," Fowler said.

"I might have lied so that the kids didn't here it," I said. I looked at Fowler with a serious glint in my eyes. "I want this knowledge to stay between the two of us. What I'm about to share is very delicate."

"Very well," Fowler said motioning for me to continue.

"I said I joined MECH at fifteen, that is true, but Silas started training me for things and ops when I turned ten. I knew how to kill a man twelve different ways and became an expert marksman by the age of thirteen with a multitude of weapons. The only thing that I never beat Silas at was hand-to-hand combat," I said still looking in Fowler's eyes to gauge his reaction. His face had remained calm but his eyes grew slightly wider at my revelations. I continued, "Three months after I had turned fifteen, Silas sent me on a mission to retrieve what I now know is Energon. I had then thought it was just a precious rock that would fund MECH until Silas conducted experiments on it and showed it as a resource. While on that mission I encountered another group called Cyborg…."  
>"Acronym?" Fowler interrupted.<p>

"No," I answered. "An operation more dangerous than MECH. Back then they had a mine full of Energon. I took out a team of Cyborg operatives to gain access to that mine. From what I learned looking through their files back then one thing kept reoccurring, Decepticons."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, Agent Fowler, the Autobots aren't the only ones aligned with humankind," I said. "May I continue or are you going to interrupt me again?"

"Sorry," Fowler said looking down. "Please, continue."

"I didn't know what the word Decepticons meant then but I do now. The reason that I'm telling you all of this is in case of my demise, only then will I want this information divulged. Am I understood?" Fowler nodded. "Good. When I came back from that mission, my training only intensified. I could have been with the Special Forces if I had been able to, and still I was being pushed on. At age sixteen, I was taught how to fly a fighter jet and a helicopter. That only took me a month and a half due to Silas' training regiment. At seventeen, I was moved to Jasper, Nevada. I don't know why and I'd like to find out. Maybe Silas knew someone was closing in on him and decided to move his best operative out of harms way, I don't know, it's only speculation at this point. The rest you know of my history."

"So you're an assassin?"

"God's sake man!" I cried. "No! I was trained as a spy. Weren't you listening! I was trained to gain intel, take care of myself if I needed to and secure the objective at all costs. I'm not proud of what I did and I sure as hell never assassinated anyone!"

"I have a question for you then," Fowler said.

"Shoot."

"When you helped defend this base from MECH and you killed that MECH operative, Flare told me that you had a mental break down of some sorts because you killed someone," Fowler said. "If I believe what you just told me, then how do you explain that?"

I sighed and ran my prosthetic through my hair. "How would you have felt after killing one of your comrades, William?" I asked pointedly. "Yes, I killed in the past but they weren't people I knew and it was in self defense. I tried peaceful negotiations at first and when those failed I tried stealth missions. I got caught a couple of times and they tried executing me, I stopped them the only way I knew how, by ending them. Killing a former comrade and one you called brother has a total different effect on your mind than killing a stranger. You don't know the stranger, whereas you know your comrade!"

"Well when you confronted me after the failed raid you just seemed innocent that's all," Fowler said sheepishly.

"Did you ask Optimus what I said afterwards to him on our drive to my place?" I asked.

"No."

"I told him that I wasn't innocent, that I had done harmful and maybe even evil things," I said. "He asked if they defined me as a person, I said no. Now," I shook my head, "now I'm now too sure."

"Beau, you are a good person, you try to help others when you can…" Fowler said.

"You know nothing about me," I hissed, interrupting him. "I'm selfish in more ways than one and you may not realize that yet, but you will."

Agent Fowler shook his head sadly and said, "Beau, I may know nothing about _you_ but I do know something about the way you act around the others on the Autobot base. There you act compassionate, kind, understanding. You help out there. I observe and base observations off of what I see."

"Then you need those eyes checked," I said turning my back on the special agent and walking away.

Two days after my encounter with Agent Fowler, I was sitting on top of the base as I normally did when my phone started vibrating. I saw that my bank account had gotten one hundred grand deposited in it and I smiled. Agent Fowler had done my second request. I stood up and headed towards the lift when my phone started vibrating nonstop. I answered the call and said, "Hello?"

"Did you get the transaction?" Fowler's voice asked.

"Yes, I just got the bank notice," I said. "Thank you."

"May I ask what you're going to be doing with that money?" Fowler asked with a concerned accent in his voice.

"Buying things of course," I said.

"What things?"

"You'll see." I hung up and turned my phone off.

I went down the lift and saw Ratchet standing by his computer. "Hello, Beau," the medic greeted me.

"Hello, Ratchet," I said. "Can you do me a favor?"

"What kind of favor?" the medic asked.

"I would like you to locate a Gander Mountain for me please," I said.

"What is a gander mountain?"

"Gander Mountain is a department store of sorts," I said. "It sells things that I need to get."

"Very well," Ratchet said. He typed and said, "The closest is in Fargo, North Dakota."

"Can you bridge me there?"

"Yes."

"Thank you," I said. "I'll contact you when I need to be bridged back. Oh, and when I contact you can you send Bulkhead?"

"Yes, why?"

"I'll have a lot of merchandise."

At Gander Mountain I was like a kid in a candy store. But the major difference was I knew exactly what I wanted. I went right to the archery section. I saw the full metal jacket arrows and I shook my head at the cost, $79.99 that was insane! I needed thirty of those, which added to $2,399.70 and I also needed broadheads, a bow, a quiver, and some targets. I might as well throw in a knife or two while I'm at it. The broadheads came in a three pack, so I needed ten of them, another $399.90 spent. I was looking at the quivers and saw that the maximum the biggest held was five. That wasn't going to cut it for me, I would have to make my own out of leather or something else. That would save me some money. A bow was going to be tricky. I wanted a compound bow without the sights. I hated sights. I'd rather use the arrow as my sight. Although, I suppose I could modify the bow once I bought it. I got a _Parker Bows Python Compound Bow_ for $599.99 and it had a draw back weight of 70 pounds. I made sure that it came in black. Now for the knives and targets. I got one _Big Green Field Point Bag Target_ for $47.99. For a human target I got a boxing thing, a _Century BOB XL _with a base for $337.96 and since I knew how to kill, I knew where to aim. I then bought a _SOG Escape Folding Knife_ for $49.99 and a _Gerber Covert Auto Serrated Folding Knife_ for $159.99 as my knife options. Then I saw a _Camillus Tomahawk_ and I bought that for $59.99. I knew that if I was going to be taking on MECH, I needed to be armed to the teeth and then beyond. The last item I placed in my shopping cart was a _Browning Stick-it Throwing Knife_ for $42.99 and I was satisfied. Any other weaponry I could get from the agency.

I contacted Ratchet via text message after I turned my phone back on and went to the check out line. The total cost: $4303.33 and that included the tax. I walked out of the store with a bulging cart and saw Bulkhead waiting for me. I walked over to him and he popped the trunk. I started loading stuff into him and he asked, "What army are you planning on taking on?"

"You should know the answer to that," I admonished. "Plus, I need something to do."

"And buying enough weaponry to take on an army gives you something to do?"

"Yup."

I brought the cart to a place I could deposit it and I got in the drivers seat. Bulk started driving and eventually he turned into an abandoned alleyway where a ground bridge opened for us. Bulkhead drove us through and I got out as soon as we got in the base. I unloaded my things from Bulk and set them on the ground and the green behemoth transformed. I looked up at Miko's guardian and asked, "Can you help me take these to the training room?"

"Sure thing," Bulk said.

I picked up my bow, arrows, broadheads, and knives. Bulkhead picked up the rest. I followed the former Wrecker to the training room and he set the targets by the farthest wall. I nodded my thanks and got to work setting up the boxing dummy. I finished setting up the boxing dummy and heard Flare ask, "This is what you wanted Fowler to help you get?"

I turned toward the entrance of the training room and smirked. "This is just the beginning," I said sheepishly. "I'm planning on buying more."

"More of what, exactly?" Flare asked, placing her hands on her hips.

I shrugged, "Not sure yet."

Flare rolled her optics at my antics and shook her helm. "Why a bow and arrow?" she asked.

"Why not?" I countered. "They're completely silent, arrows can be reused, and I think that a broadhead arrow causes more pain than a bullet."

"Why's that?"

"Pulling a broadhead out is damn near impossible if the target is still alive," I answered. "The only way for the arrow to be removed is for it to be pushed through the target. Any slight movement or tug on the shaft of the arrow causes immense pain and more damage than there had been previously. So it's great for interrogations."

"Where did you learn all of that?" Flare asked.

"Where do you think?" I said taking out the throwing knife and tomahawk.

"Purpose of those would be…?" my guardian asked.

"You never know," I said. "Hand-to-hand combat can still happen nowadays and I want to be prepared for that."

"An ax though?"

"Tomahawk," I corrected. I turned toward the boxing dummy turned target and threw the tomahawk. The tomahawk embedded itself in the head of the target and I turned towards Flare. "They're made for throwing and for close quarters combat."

"Nice throw," was all she said before she turned and left.

In all actuality, that throw had been pure luck. I had released the tomahawk too early for my liking and had gotten a headshot. I twirled the throwing knife in my left hand a couple of times before I threw that at the target. It embedded itself where the heart would be and I nodded in satisfaction. My left hand wasn't my dominant hand, which I found odd since I was left-handed. With fencing I was ambidextrous, shooting guns I was right-handed, archery again I was right-handed, and usually with throwing things it was with my right hand. I finished setting up my archery range and once that was finished, I started working on my arrows.

The thirty arrows that I bought were already equipped with field tips, meaning target practice. Nonetheless they were deadly. I switched out the tips on half the arrows with broadheads and set them aside and out of Miko's reach. I knew if she found out she would look for them. The other fifteen I set in a separate pile and I headed out of the training room with the human sized door locked. I walked to the main room and saw Flare standing there. I approached her and asked, "Can you take me somewhere?"

"Didn't you just go shopping?" she asked placing her hands on her hips as she looked down at me.

I chuckled and replied with a slight smile, "The store I was at didn't have a couple of things that I was looking for. I know of a place where I can get the items I require."

"Where would that be?" Flare asked.

"Don't worry, it's in Jasper," I said, my smile getting bigger.

"How long will it take us?"

"I don't know," I admitted.

"It's illegal, isn't it?" Flare asked.

"No," I said. "It's a little store close to the school."

Flare finally relented and transformed into her motorcycle form. I hopped on and put on my leather riding gloves. I tapped her gas tank to tell her I was ready and we took off towards town. I had a Bluetooth in my right ear so we could talk. We got into Jasper and were approaching the school when I noticed something. "Slow down," I said.

"Why?"

"Look at the tree," I said.

"Raf?"

"And a bunch of assholes it looks like."

"What's going on?" Flare asked.

"Trouble," I answered. "Pull over, I need to take care of this."

"How did I know that you were going to get involved?" Flare asked me dryly.

I ignored her as she pulled over and put up her kickstand as I dismounted. I saw that it was that punk kid Vince that Jack had told me so much about over the course of the months I hadn't been in school. "Hey," I shouted. "What's going on here?"

Vince turned around and looked at me in shock. "New kid, it's been awhile," he said.

"What the hell is going on here?" I demanded stopping a foot away from the redhead.

"Just reminding the twerp whose boss, that's all," Vince said idly as if we were old friends.

I narrowed my eyes and growled, "Back off, Raff's done nothing to you."

Vince laughed and asked me, "You haven't been to school in three months, so you don't have a say in school politics. You don't have a clue what's going on here, do you?"

"That's where you're wrong," I said venomously. "I know exactly what's going on."

"Oh, and what's that?" Vince asked mockingly.

"You're picking on someone you deem unworthy, someone you believe to be lower than yourself because he's better than you are," I answered. This prick was really getting on my nerves. "You make yourself feel powerful and strong by picking on him because he's physically weaker than you are. How about you try taking me on, will that change your perception of things?"

"Are you challenging me to a fight?" Vince asked in disbelief.

"Damn straight," I said. "But it'll be more of your humiliation than anything else."

"Cocky much?" Vince asked putting his fists up.

"No," I answered standing sideways so that my right side was facing the ginger. "Confident in my abilities and knowing yours stink."

Vince took a step forward to try and hit me, but I spun on my right foot and delivered a kick to his chest with my left foot. Vince flew back and landed on his back with a grunt as his air rushed out. There was a collective gasp from the onlookers as they witnessed what I had done. "Get up," I ordered him, my voice hard. "I hardly hit you, come on, get up!"

Vince groaned and rolled onto his hands and knees. "Beau, maybe you should back off," Raf spoke up.

I looked at him and shook my head. "He hasn't learned his lesson yet," I answered.

Vince got up and looked at me with anger in his eyes. "You'll pay for that," he said trying to sound dangerous.

"Really?" I asked. "And how do you propose that will work? I doubt you can land a punch on me."

Vince yelled in rage and charged at me. He threw punch after punch and I just leaned and dodged out of the way. I caught his right hand in my left and shoved him back. "You call those punches?" I asked shaking my head scornfully. "Like I said, you couldn't land a single punch on me."

Vince came at me again and I dodged and evaded his punches once more. I sensed a desperation in Vince to land a hit on me, but as I kept evading him that desperation was slowly being replaced with rage. "Stand still already!" Vince yelled.

"I'll make this fair, I'll only use my left hand," I said. "But I'll still land six hits on you before you can even react."

"Bull shit!"

"Your funeral," I said stepping up and delivering four quick jabs to Vince's diaphragm, an elbow to the diaphragm, and then bringing my fist up from the elbow and nailing him in the nose.

The bully stumbled back and collapsed onto his butt and looked stunned. Blood started to trickle out of his nose and I knew that if I hadn't been holding back, he would've had a broken nose and a couple of broken ribs. I turned to Raf and said, "Come on, let's get you out of here."

"What about him?" the twelve year old asked pointing to Vince.

"What about him?" I asked.

"Will he be okay?"

I chuckled and clasped my prosthetic on the boys left shoulder. "A couple of bruises and a bruised ego," I said. "That's it."

"You were holding back, weren't you?" Raf asked looking up at me.

I sobered and met the intelligent boy's eyes. "Yes," I answered. "Way back."

"Why?"

"Because, Raf, I believe that true strength is knowing when to hold up when facing an opponent weaker than oneself rather than completely obliterating them," I responded. "It's also knowing when to hold back and when to unleash your strength that can cause the problem. If you know when to hold back, you'll be fine. If you don't know when to hold back, you're doomed to lose your self-control."

I led Raf to Flare and gave the kid my helmet. It was hard to believe that I was only six years older than he was because I felt way older than that. "Bumblebee will meet us at your destination, Beau," Flare said.

"Understood," I said.

"You'll have to lead me the rest of the way since you know where you're going," Flare said.

"I know," I said quietly.

I mounted Flare first and Raf got on behind me. Flare backed up from the space she had parked herself and I gave her the directions towards the little shop we were heading towards. I nudged her gas tank with my right knee telling her to take a right and she did. I stopped us in front of a store that had written on its sign in bold letters in this style of font:

**Zimmermann Leather and Other Specialties**

"What does that say?" Flare asked unable to read it.

"Zimmermann Leather and Other Specialties," Raf answered.

"What're the other specialties?" Flare asked suspiciously.

"Just wait here for Bumblebee, I'll be back in hopefully under twenty minutes," I said as I dismounted.

I walked into the store and I saw a man in his mid sixties behind the counter. "Ah, Herr Schwarz," he greeted me with a smile on his face.

"Herr Zimmermann," I greeted back with a respectful nod of my head.

"Was führt dich heute?" he asked. _What brings you here today?_

"Ich suche nach etwas," I answered. _I'm looking for something._

"Was suchst du?" _What are you looking for?_

"Ein Köcher." _A quiver._

"Welche Art von Köcher?" _What kind of quiver?_

"Die Art kann dass dreißig Pfeilen halten." _The kind that can hold thirty arrows._

"O.K."

"Danke schön," I said. _Thank you very much_.

"Bitte," Herr Zimmermann replied. _You're welcome_. He disappeared into the back room behind the counter and after a couple of minutes came out with a quiver that would strap onto my back. It looked big enough. He set it on the counter and looked in my eyes.

"Wie kostet es?" I asked. _How much does it cost?_

Herr Zimmermann took out a notebook and wrote down $100 and underlined it three times. He looked at me pointedly and then back at the quiver. I handed him my debit card and he swiped it and handed it back to me. I took the quiver and he nodded at me.

"Genießen Sie den Rest des Tages," I said. _Enjoy the rest of your day_.

"Und du auch," the shopkeeper replied. _And you as well._

I headed outside and got on Flare. I tapped her gas tank and we headed off back towards base. After a while of riding, my guardian asked me, "That's all you needed was a quiver?"

"I needed one that could hole thirty arrows," I replied. "Mister Zimmermann is the only one I know of that has them."

"How do you know of that guy?" Flare asked.

"I met him a few years back on an assignment from Silas in Duluth, Georgia. I saved his life from a gang and he said that if I ever needed anything I could come to him for a discounted price," I answered. "When I found out that he had moved to Jasper, Nevada, I knew that it was time to call in that debt."

"I was listening in to your conversation, you never once mentioned anything about a debt!" Flare objected.

I laughed and shook my head. "You know German?" I asked.

"No, the world wide web does," she shot back.

I laughed harder as we kept riding towards the base and it honestly felt good to laugh like this. I needed the laugh, even if it was at my guardian's expense. We got back to base and Optimus was standing there looking at the two of us with a disappointed look on his face. _Uh-oh_, I thought. _He's pissed_.

"Flare, I would like to speak to Beau alone," the Prime said. Yeah, he's pissed.

I dismounted and Flare transformed and walked away. "What's up?" I asked.

"If you'd follow me, Beau," the Prime said. I knew it wasn't a suggestion, it was an order.

"Yeah," I said meekly.

I followed Optimus down a separate corridor from the training room and saw an office of some sort. A Cybertronian sized office, but one nonetheless. Optimus sat down behind a huge desk and motioned for me to come. I climbed up onto the desk that had to be fifteen feet high and saw a human sized chair already there. I didn't know if I was permitted to sit until the Prime motioned for me to do so. "I'm disappointed in you, Beau," the Prime said.

"If it's about me buying the weaponry…" I started.

"It's not about that," Optimus interrupted me. I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "It's about how you humiliated that boy at the school."

I sighed and ran my real hand through my hair. "Optimus," I said. "It was the only way to get him to leave Rafael alone."

"Was it?" Optimus asked me.

"I…" I trailed off. I felt like a child again.

"I don't have an issue with you stepping in to protect Rafael," Optimus said. "The issue that I have is how you handled the problem."

"I can't behave how you want me to, Prime," I said. "I was raised differently than you'd expect. I see something and I react the way that I've been trained to."

"I can understand that, but to completely humiliate someone that is weaker than you, that is not an honorable thing to do," Optimus said.

I snorted and looked away. "There's nothing honorable about me, Prime," I said. "I've tried to tell you that in the past. In fact after the raid at Hanger E, I tried telling you that I wasn't innocent."

"What aren't you telling us?" the Prime asked resting his huge elbows on the desk and lacing his fingers together.

"A lot," I confessed. "And I proffer to keep it that way. I have told someone though, and I made him promise not to tell anyone of what I had told him unless I died."

"Why?"

"I don't want that information told or spread," I said. "I don't want what I've said to get into the kids ears."

"You're still a child," Optimus pointed out.

I shook my head once again. "Not after what I've done and what I've been through," I said. "My birthday is in a week anyway. From there, I'll be an adult."

"So you don't feel any remorse for what you did to that boy at the school?" Optimus asked.

"No."

Optimus sighed and shook his head sadly. "You may go," he said.

I stood up and walked to the edge of the desk and just jumped down. When I landed I rolled so that my knees wouldn't take all of the energy of the landing. I walked out of the office/quarters of the Prime and headed to the training room. I thought better of it and changed directions. I had forgotten to get a few things from a Gander Mountain I realized. I still needed a punching bag and some gloves. I also wanted to get a stereo so I could listen to music while I trained.

I got to the main commons area and approached Ratchet. "What is it?" the medic asked.

"I forgot a couple of things," I answered. "Do you think that you could send me back to North Dakota?"

The medic sighed and looked down from whatever it was he was doing and at me. "What do you require?" he inquired.

"A punching bag, gloves, and a stereo," I answered.

"Do you require Bulkhead once more?"

I shook my head, "No I think that I can manage," I said. "Although could you locate a Wal-Mart instead?"

Ratchet nodded and a couple of seconds later opened the ground bridge. He motioned for me to walk through. I removed the quiver from my back and tossed it up to Ratchet before I walked through. I was in an alleyway next to the store and I walked in. I headed to the sporting goods area and saw what I was looking for, an _Everlast Vintage Boxing Set_. It contained a 100 lbs. pound bag, boxing gloves, and hand wraps. It was on sale too so that was a bonus. It was only $54.00! I picked it up and grunted a bit and set in on my shoulder before I headed to the electronic section. I found a _Genius SP-HF1800A Speaker System_ stereo for $65.99. Good I suppose. I picked that up and headed to the check out. I paid and then contacted Ratchet.

I was back at the base and all of the kids rushed to greet me. "What's that for?" Miko asked me pointing to the punching bag kit.

"Exercise," I answered.

"And that?" she asked pointing to my new stereo.

"Listening to music," I answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Where are you putting it?" Miko asked.

"What?" I asked as I was walking to the training room.

"The punching bag!"

"The training room," I answered.

I got to the training room and set the punching bag kit and stereo down. Unaware that I had an audience, I went to my bow and arrow and removed them from where I had stashed them. I realized that Ratchet had placed the quiver here as well. I slung the quiver onto my back and put the fifteen arrows with the field tips in there. I walked in front of the boxing dummy target and nocked my first arrow. I was approximately twenty yards away from the target, a decent starting point since I hadn't used a bow in nearly a year and a half. I took a deep breath as I pulled the string back and sighted down the shaft of the arrow and towards the torso of the dummy. I let the breath go and took another one. This time when I released it, I released the string as well and quickly pulled another arrow from the quiver and nocked it just after the arrow hit the target a few inches to the left of where I had been aiming. It would have penetrated the sternum and been a kill shot, but a slow death due that it wouldn't have severed anything vital.

I took a deep breath as I drew the string back and sighted once again. I released the deep breath and took another, this time holding the breath in and then releasing the string before my breath. The arrow went where I was aiming, right where the heart would be. I nocked the third arrow and turned my torso towards the standard target and repeated the process of taking a deep breath, sighting, releasing breath, and taking another before releasing the arrow. Bull's-eye! I heard a shuffle of feet and lowered my bow as I turned around and saw my audience. _Fuck_, I swore. It was the kids and their guardians.

"What are those for?" Miko asked excitedly.

"Umm," I looked up at the guardians who knew exactly what they were for. "Hunting."

"Then why are you using a human target?" Raf asked.

I closed my eyes and ran my right hand through my hair since my left was holding the bow. "I think you know the answer to that, Raf," I said softly.

"MECH," Jack said.

I nodded. Now I knew the others would see me differently, as the monster I truly was, as a killer. "I…" I said then stopped. I was at a loss to say.

"I think we should leave Beau alone," Arcee spoke up. I looked at her gratefully and she gave me a small nod.

"But…" Miko started.

"No but's, Miko," Bulkhead said. "Not this time."

Their guardians ushered the kids out and I felt alone once again, something I hadn't felt since I was first brought here due to the encounter I had had with Arachnid. I turned back to the targets and started up again.

**Author's Note:**

**Please let me know what you think**

**Porter-Fuzz1218**


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